Statement by Edward J. McElroy
President, American Federation of Teachers
on President Bush’s State of the Union Address and Education Initiatives

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two months and 16 days since his policies took a self-described “thumpin’,” President Bush continues to press the politics of division. Tonight, in his State of the Union Address, President Bush mostly spoke in broad terms about the need to support our students, teachers and schools. However, with his proposed education initiative that will include two voucher schemes as part of the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, President Bush has clearly decided to invite partisan bickering rather than bipartisan progress.

Every minute spent debating a voucher proposal means less time for making needed changes to a law that has been long on promise and short on progress. That does nothing to help our children, our teachers or our schools.

What President Bush should be saying is that he will support research-backed solutions for struggling schools and disadvantaged students, and that additional funding will be proposed in support of real programs, not as a salve to avoid addressing the fundamental problems in the law.

The president also is on the wrong track with his healthcare proposals.  Rather than undermine existing employer-provided health insurance for workers and their families, as the President suggests, we should move toward universal healthcare coverage by expanding Medicare coverage to the uninsured—especially disadvantaged children. 

The State of the Union is an opportunity for the President to set a national agenda that focuses on the needs of the people of the country and that puts their interests above partisan politics. President Bush missed that opportunity.

# # # #